Fears and Nightmares in Devastated Dreams

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t’s finally live on Kickstarter. We’ve written about Devastated Dreams and previewed it when it was first announced (you can read our previous coverage on the game here) and now you can finally back the campaign. It borrows a lot from Infinitap’s previous work Neverending Nightmares, but it also goes its own way and expands on what Matt Gilgenbach’s learned from his other outing. If you crave more psychological horror adventure then read on.

Devastated Dreams is not for the faint of heart. You play as a pregnant (or not so pregnant depending on which nightmare you’re currently experiencing) young woman named Angel as she struggles with the fears of motherhood in a remote Filipino town. As we’ve mentioned previously, Matt’s taken the story and woven it around his own fears of parenthood along with his own experiences in visiting the Philippines. And injected a healthy dose of local folklore into the narrative.

There are creatures in the Philippines called the “Aswang”. They’re basically the country’s version of vampires and werewolves, and they prey on children. As Angel travels through these macabre dreamscapes she’ll encounter said foul beasts as she goes through each land of nightmares. In some she’ll be pregnant and in others she won’t be. And around every corner is the potential to have her unborn progeny taken from her.

Devastated Dreams plays very similarly to Neverending Nightmares in that you’ll be able to sprint, but only temporarily. Eventually you’ll lose your breath and start walking normally while you rest. At least this doesn’t sound as bad as trying to run in the previous game. Having to pause and gasp for air was one thing that I really didn’t like about it. Thankfully, you can still move while winded.

I look forward to seeing where Matt takes us next with Devastated Dreams and if it’s anything like Neverending Nightmares then this one should be a great experience. I hope to see this make it and then some with time to spare.

Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.

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